


The Good Lie

by LillianaNil



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 08, Episode: s07e23 Survival of the Fittest, Heaven and Hell Closed, M/M, Multi, No longer abandoned, Post-Season/Series 07, Purgatory, Trials of Heaven, Trials of Hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-03-31 23:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3997027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillianaNil/pseuds/LillianaNil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel and Dean meet again in Purgatory. This is not the story of how they claw their way out of purgatory. This is a story of how two broken souls, and grace, find solace in each other's presence, and how they save each other from the inevitable. </p><p>This is a story of Love, Sacrifice, Laughter, Pain and Family.<br/>Because Family doesn't end with blood, and sometimes you forge the best bonds in the darkest of times.<br/>This is how begins, and this is where it all ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Of Monsters and Men (And Archangels)

**Author's Note:**

> My late entry for the Gabriel Big Bang! The updates will be weekly, if not biweekly. I've already written quite a bit of it. My first complete draft got deleted when a "friend" decided to wipe my whole Google Drive Account, so I had to start again. Otherwise, The whole fic would be posted as a whole. 
> 
> Therefore, the good news is, I know exactly where the story is going so the updates will be fast!  
> However, don't refrain from letting me what you think of the story, because as we know from the show, "Nothing is written in stone; We're making it up as we go". *wink*
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Gabriel ran through the forest he once remembered as the Garden of Eden. The structure was still the same, not accounting for the obvious differences in the mood, but it was too close to home.

He could still feel the hum of Heaven’s grace in his veins, underneath his skin, in his chest, in the deepest parts of his being.

He hadn’t been an Angel for a long time. He hadn’t been Gabriel for longer than that, even.

He missed home, though, despite all other differences.

Purgatory is a different realm than any other in Father’s infinite creations. Out of all the five realms – it’s always five, always – this one is the most ominous of them all.

Maybe it’s because it had been closed to all but those who were considered monstrous enough to go there. Maybe because no angel was meant to go there, considering Leviathan were shut down in this hellhole to keep them away from both humans and, particularly, the Angels.

Anyhow, Gabriel’s been here for a long while now. Things changed a lot since he’s been here. A lot of the people here left, then a bunch of them came back; Minus the leviathan of course.

Gabriel understands that that means the Leviathan were on Earth, and that this probably had something to do with the stupid Winchesters.

It’s always the Winchesters.

However, he doesn’t begrudge them the cleanup duty. Technically Michael and him were meant to get rid of the stuck up cannibalistic monsters if they ever popped up on Earth again; Too bad too sad they were both indisposed though, huh?

Well, he did his fair share of standing up and facing the day. He’d much rather face the night and all the delicious chocolate-y sex that comes with it now on, thank you very much. Being stabbed in the chest by his older brother was no picnic.

One minute, he is staring at Lucifer’s cruel and sad eyes as the most hurtful pain he’d ever experienced radiated through every single atom, subatomic and miniscule parts of his being,  and the next thing he knows he’s running around in purgatory trying not to get caught by the monstrosities that are known as Leviathan.

Unlike what one might think, Gabriel is not stupid- he understands that he cannot face the leviathan alone in their own home, purgatory. There was a reason Daddy tossed them to the time out room, and Gabriel is going to respect his Father’s choice. Just this once.

For an Archangel of the Lord, time has no real meaning. There is no beginning, no end and no timestamp. Time is distinguished only but what is and what could be. The future is often predicted, but not set in stone. The past has come and gone, and is yet still mutable.

In all the history of his Father’s creation, there’s not much Gabriel hasn’t seen. There’s not much he doesn’t know about. As a full powered Archangel, he had the ability to travel through time at his will. As long as he was careful not to change anything, he was golden to observe as long as he wanted.

Heaven’s most destructive weapons, the Archangel were also very curious. They weren’t the sharing and caring type much, but they knew what their mission was.

In the beginning, anyway.

Lucifer’s story is a totally different.

He’s been running around in Purgatory for a long while now. Although as social as he is, he hasn’t made an effort to make contact with anybody. An angel, in the monster land, is like the last piece of candy in the store. He wouldn’t last for a day, even if he's an Archangel with pagan experiences. 

So it’s a good thing he had dedicated most of the past few millennium to perfecting his hiding skills. He’s pretty much golden at hiding himself in the deepest parts of the Garden now. It’s his new protection witness program. _No Walking or flying, he’s running._ Survival is the most important thing.

Purgatory is the most accurate description of Natural selection he’s ever seen, and he’s seen a lot. It’s that documentary in where the Predators start feasting on each other, and it’s not pretty.

He’d been surprised when he’d found himself here. Sure, he’d killed off a lot of people who truly deserved his just desserts. He might’ve enjoyed that a bit as well. He also did hang out with pagans for a few thousand years too.

Didn’t know that meant a straight ticket into no-angel’s land, though. Apparently he’d been absorbed in his witness protection program’s secret identity more than he had thought.

Though, if that meant he wouldn’t cease to exist like all the other Angels, he’s not complaining. Maybe that was Dad’s way of saying peek-a-boo after all that happened. Although, thinking Father actually cares is probably way too optimistic in this situation. That would mean that Father, for once, actually gave a shit about what happens. It’s just probably his shitty luck that he can’t really catch a break.

Overall, what is currently happening in Purgatory is that not much is happening in Purgatory. He runs, he hides, he waits, and it’s all over again. There’s nothing much happening that distinguishes now from before. There’s no way of saying how long he’s been running, or how far he’s ran.

After a while, trying not to get caught and going over the whole place a few times, everything has started to look the same.

It all changes the day the Leviathan come back. But it’s not the Leviathan’s presence again that is interesting – their return is more terrifying than anything else – But the difference in the way Purgatory has always been.

It’s brighter, more alive, suddenly buzzing with a low-thrumming energy.

There’s a human in the midst of them of all.

There’s a human in purgatory, and Gabriel is going to find the poor bastard; Because he has a pretty good idea who is stupid enough – or genius, if they’d figured how to get rid of the Leviathan in the first place – to end up in the place where no human is allowed.

It’s always the Winchesters.

***

Dean’s big epiphany that something was not right came to him in form of a light breeze on his cheeks. Everything was dark, and everything smelt .. old. There was an old smell of blood, gore and death in the air that he was quite used to, tinged with the earthy smell of trees and woods. He peeled open his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in his surroundings. He was laying down on a forest ground, the sky above him dark and gray, the trees around him branched out and dead.

He shot up from where he was lying down quickly and looked around. It was in the middle of clearing in a forest. A dead forest, to be exact. He could hear howling and and wolf’s crying in the distance.

Where was this place? What was he doing here?

He could feel his heart beating fast and frantic in his chest. His breathing erratic and unstable.

_Breathe-in, Breathe-out._

_In._

_Out._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

The last thing he remembered was .. well.. Dick.

Dick-friggin-Roman.

They were in the Levi-land. He had been with Cas and they had been trying to gank that Dick sonovabitch.

Frankly, he was sure he had stabbed that bitch in the neck. He remembered Dick’s manic chuckle as he had opened his gaping hole of mouth and hissed with his tongue and then..

Nothing.

_Calm down._

You’re no good if you’re half out’a your mind with panic.

Fear, not panic. Fear gives you strength. Panic Paralyzes your ass.

Be afraid, not panicked.

He breathed in once more and started walking around the clearing.

“Cas?” His voice broke as he uttered his friend’s name quietly.

“ _CAS_?” He said once more in a louder voice.

Nothing.

He was well and truly alone in this place. Wherever the hell _this_ was.

He had a sneaking suspicion he knew what this place was.

Dean could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Growling, snarling and yelling gibberish. It was still far away, but it was still coming.

He reached inside his jacket’s pocket - thank the absent God for small mercies he still had his weapons - and pulled out a machete he had put in his Jacket for the big raid out and searched the area.

It probably wasn’t safe hanging around here any longer. He was in tune with his Fight and Flight system after years of hunting, and he knew a bad choice when he saw one. This one called for a run. He didn’t know what he was dealing here, and big chance was he wouldn’t know how to gank the son of a bitch anyway.

He doubted he had somehow magically ended up somewhere deep in the woods up on Earth. That rarely happened. He wasn’t delusional. No matter how far-fetched the area was, it made sense.

_He was in Purgatory, and he was all alone._

_Breathe-in._

_Breathe-out._

So he runs. He runs with all the wits he can gather in the matter of those long, excruciating moments of his epiphany. He runs like his life depends on, like Sam’s life depends on it, and he knows that Sammy is safe upstairs probably wondering where the hell is wayward brother fucked off to and maybe he’s glad to have been rid of his nuisance of brother. What does it matter if he’s there anyway? Sam’s a big boy now and he’s not Dean’s responsibility anymore.

He’s sane now, not crazy out of his mind with the Devil singing classic rock to him in a mental ward, and he’s got Cas. Hopefully.

Damn it all to hell with the fact that Cas is insane. It doesn’t matter anyway. Dude was nerdy and confused and had a stick up his ass even when he wasn’t insane. Maybe this way he’d be more approachable, who knows. All in all the world won’t be going down the gutter, again, and that’s all Dean can hope for. If his trip down to purgatory is the price to be paid for all those Douchebags to be snuffed away from Mother Earth, then so be it. It’s all worth it and some more.

And he runs and he runs.

He runs for hours, days, weeks, months, years.. who knows?

He runs until his shoes are beaten down and his once clean jacket is dirty and ripped apart.

He runs until his once clean shaven face is full of days worth of beard and his hair is long enough to Put Sam’s Lion mane to shame.

He stops at a stream, takes a breather.

That’s what he took out of years of hunting. You can’t fight a winning battle if you’re tired out of your mind. You need to be on tip-top shape and you need your energy.

He can’t exactly have magic fingers here now, though, can he?

He hasn’t tried those for years anyway.

Which is why he shucks off his jacket and his overshirt. He gets rid of his jeans and his underwear; bundles them all up with his weapons on top of them and drags them to the middle of the stream where nothing can snatch them away.

He keeps all his senses on alert as he takes the water from the gray and dirty and filled with who knows what, and he washes all the dirt and blood and days old odor off of him. He wouldn’t have considered himself a neat-freak, but he loves his body germ free. After living a hunter’s life for years, dealing with graveyard dirt and blood and ectoplasm on a daily basis, he had learned to appreciate the neatness of a nice, long shower.

What he wouldn’t give now for some quality water pressure shower. Or just a shower. Or even a new pair of clean clothes.

He scrubs off the blood that had splashed on the side of his neck after killing a vampire somewhere in the middle of his run, and pours water on the black goo stuck to his arms after he had dealt with one nasty Leviathan.  He leans down and washes his hair in the stream, running his hands in his dirty and flaky hair and tries to get all the nasty stuff out of his hair with as much concentration as he can without taking his eyes off his surroundings.

He cleans himself through and through and washes his face with the water again and again.

Nothing like a real shower, but close enough.

He starts running away from the stream again as soon as he’s washed his clothes. Nothing like a new pair of boxer briefs or a new shirt, but this is not about comfort or luxury. This a game of survival of the fittest, and he’s all the way down the food chain. All he can do to live is try hard and hope to all that’s holy that he’ll blend in with the background enough that he won’t be monster chow in the next few hours. The rest, is all in the future and things he can’t afford to think about.

So, he runs.

***

Apparently, monsters hold lifelong grudges. Gank one, and they’d be sure to keep you in for their vengeance. Gank their Mother, and you’re in for special treatment. Which is why he can’t afford staying in one place, why he never listens to a word the sons of bitches say before he runs out of his life energy, and then he runs some more.

He hears about Eve, how they were all gonna punish her killer with special treatment.

_Killed our Mother, deserves the special beef roast menu, don’t he?_

He meets Gordon halfway through his run, and beheads the SOB again. He didn’t get to kill him when he was on earth, but seems like Karma’s a bitch. He chops his head off just as he hisses and shows his vampire fangs off. It’s a good look on him, suits his dark and avenging personality. Twisted, twisted guy.

Dean chops heads off vampires, werewolves and ghouls, and runs away from those difficult enough that he doesn’t have the tools to kill. He finds the weak and avoids the strong, and crosses his fingers he doesn’t have to see people he doesn’t want to.

Which is of course when he’s faced with his Amazon killer daughter again. Well, the daughter his brother shot. She didn’t kill anyone while he was alive, so does that make her a killer? If she’s never killed but she’s a killer by nature, does that identify her by her nature just because she couldn’t do anything against it?

It hurts, because he sees himself and Sam and his Mom when he looks at her daughter,  _Emma_ , and he can’t help but think this is _His daughter_ , and is Destiny cruel enough to make him kill her again? He hopes not. He really hopes that’s not the case, because he doesn’t know if he has it in him. This is his flesh and blood and he can’t help but love her anyway. He doesn’t know a thing about this little Amazon Warrior but he can’t help but go a little fatherly inside in her presence. It’s like poisonwood, wrapping the twisted feelings of survival and love and family and killer all around his soul and twisting it as if it’s the easiest and hardest thing in the world at the same time.

He looks at her, long and deep, and saves her picture to his memory. She’s more rugged than he remembers. Her jacket is a lost cause and her hair is tied back and frizzy and messy as it comes, but she’s survived.

She looks him in the eyes with pain, hurt and betrayal and lets out an animalistic guttural sound from her chest as she turns around and looks behind her. By the time she looks back, he’s long gone.

He can’t - _won’t_ \- deal with this. He doesn’t know if he’ll survive killing his biological daughter, monster or not, and he’s not gonna bet his life on it. He’s broken, shattered and hollow enough as he is already, he can’t dig his own grave any more than he already has.

 

Most days, Purgatory isn’t that bad. It’s 360 degrees of combat back to back and thirty-one flavors of bottom-dwelling nasties wrapped in a christmas box all at the same time, but at least he knows what he’s dealing with.

He kills, runs, kills and runs again. He fights, knifes and stabs and kicks. He doesn’t wait to hear the story, doesn’t have to look up facts to make sure someone’s innocent or deadly. This is monster-land, and he doesn’t have to wait, stop and think about the morality and ethics of each monster he kills. It’s pure, and it gives him the strength to keep fighting.

This is what he’s been doing all his life anyway, so what’s the matter if he gets to do it in afterlife? Sure, it’s lonely and he’s tired to the deepest fissures and dips of his painstakingly old body, but what’s he got to lose? There’s no light in the end of this tunnel, he knows, but Dean Winchester won’t be snuffed out without a fight. Not now, not in a place where he doesn’t even know what’ll happen to him after he dies. He’s in friggin’ purgatory for fuck’s sake, would he go to hell or heaven after he bites the dust?

 

_Sweet, sweet nothingness._

 

It’s somewhere deep in the woods, far away from the stream, a clearing where there’s no sound from the outside world. It’s peaceful, and quiet for the first time in forever. He slumps down a bit - doesn’t let his guard down though, he knows better - and assesses his surroundings. Trees, bushes, clearing, no monsters in sight.

He lies there, for seconds, minutes, hours. It could’ve been days.

He came to when he heard the sound of footsteps, crushing leaves.

Leaves are good alarms in jungle. He’d learned that fast.

He shot up silently, lowered his breathing, and tiptoed behind a tree.

 

_Hidden. Camouflaged._

 

Something comes into the clearing. It’s not as tall as a wendigo, but it’s not as short as Xing Tian, the chinese god without his head, with eyes on his chest and his mouth on his belly. Dean draws his machete from his jacket. It never hurts to be ready for the worst case scenario.

He moves a feet so he can watch the thing as it walks deeper into the clearing. It has a humanoid form - including his head - and has clothes on.

He has kinda gotten used to ripped clothes and partial nudity around here. The monsters don’t  care what they looked like. All they care about is who gets to munch on the human first.

Dean has finally found a quiet place where he could hide. He’d been on the run for so long that he just wanted a place to put his head on the ground and not worry about how he might not have his head the second he closes his eyes.

He’s not gonna give up this spot he’s found, a safe haven in the monster’s land of fight or flight. He’s gonna for this one thing, one thing, that he’s found worth fighting for here.  

He checks to make sure he has all his weapons on himself, affirms his grip on the handle of the machete, closes his eyes and breathes.

Deep breathes.

_In._

_Out._

_Go._

He moves around the trees silently, watching his footsteps and avoiding the leaves.

He moves behind the trees and keeps an eye on the thing. He can see that the thing is wearing a bloody and battered army jacket, and the hair is pretty much a lost cause of disarray and dirt. Lots of blood too.

He lunges forward when he finds that he is close enough that he can give up the surprise act. He puts all his weight in his attack and pushes forward with his Machete.

The thing turns around a makes a grunting sound as it dodges the blow and lies on the ground. It turns around, grabs Dean’s feet and yanks him down. Dean turns around so he can avoid falling on his back, and doesn’t waste any time attacking the thing as soon as he’s on the ground. He clutches his machete as he punches the thing , which causes another throaty groan, and rolls the thing around on its back so he can stab it in the chest and behead it.

As he pulls his hand behind his back and pulls on his force to stab it in the heart, the groaning voices start to make sense in head.

He realizes, with a start, that the groans are not nonsensical grunts. They’re words and the voice sounds very very familiar.

The edges of his tunnel-visioned attack mode start to clear out, and he finally takes a deep look at the thing lying underneath him.

Dirty brown hair, Honey-amber eyes, sneering lips. Sunken cheeks and covered with dirt.

Then it clicked.

“Gabriel?!”

 

 

 


	2. More like Alice in Monsterland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "In the land of Gods and Monsters  
> I was an Angel  
> Living in the garden of evil  
> Screwed up, scared, doing anything that I needed  
> Shining like a fiery beacon"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song of the chapter:
> 
> Gods and Monsters - Lana Del Ray

It takes them a while to start trusting each other enough to start traveling together, but they make it work. Gabriel is saddened at how much Dean has changed since the last time he saw him, and Dean is not so sure at first that Gabriel isn’t a shapeshifter in disguise, or some form of hallucination he’s made up. But Gabriel lets him perform all the tests he wants on him to make sure he’s real, and asks Dean to let him in on what’s been happening up on Earth in return.

They start traveling together after that. Gabriel tells him about the changes in Purgatory since Dean came in, and Dean isn’t sure if he believes him but goes with it for now anyways. They start running away together and don’t think about how this is not a strategic decision. They don’t think about leaving their sides open for a blow and hang on to each other. They’ve both been alone for too long, even if they’ve forgotten all about time and normal, they still hang on to the simple opportunity of having a partner.

They pass the river again and Gabriel tells him how to kill the monsters he didn’t know before. Dean cuts off the head of a siren when it attacks Gabriel, and Gabriel kills a wendigo when it pins Dean down in a momentary lapse of indecision.

They hide out in the bushes, where trees are tall and the growls of the wolves are quiet and lie down for a bit. They take turns watching out for any intruders and make sure to run at any given moment. It’s not peaceful, and it’s not a rest stop;  It’s a moment where they pretend to not think of where they are, and what’s happening to them. They hide and pretend to be in a jungle where they aren’t hunted, prey of those who’ve lived in these forests for centuries, millenia.

It mostly doesn’t work. They start running soon after, but sometimes it’s peaceful.

Once, Dean leans against the trunk of a dead Pine tree, with pieces of wood lying all around his bloody jeans; His hands rest on his machete, but his eyes are closed.

It’s a luxury he doesn’t grant himself, but he’s learned to use his other senses too, and he trusts Gabriel to watch his back, and let him know if anything is coming, if he doesn’t find out himself.

He trusts himself more, but he’s ready to close his eyes for now.

 

Gabriel starts talking about the Garden of Eden then and it’s a relief, hearing him talk. He hadn’t had that while he’d been running by himself. For a while there he’d been sure he’d forgotten to form words, to understand human contact.

Not that Gabriel is human, but it’s enough. It has to be enough. Because Gabriel is telling him the stories of years long gone; Years when Purgatory was a story of future and the Garden was a place of happiness; The place where Adam and Eve had. Where they could be together as humans, without the knowledge, without a soul.

Souls are power, Dean knows that well enough after the whole debacle with Cas and his day as Death and dealing with the soulless monster that was Sam without a soul,  so he listens and saves the stories to his mind and files it away for later.

He’d learned to that, when he learned that stories weren’t just stories to be told at night. That there were little annoying fairies in each fairy tale and a monster to kill in each Children’s book. The bible isn’t a moral story, it’s a guide book and who’s a better person to learn from than someone who’s been there since the beginning?

Then there’s another time, this time with Dean again leaning against a tree and Gabriel lying his head on Dean’s lap and closing his eyes. Dean is keeping watch and Gabriel is using the moment to recharge his batteries.

They’re both so different now, in purgatory. They’re not “ _The Trickster, Loki_ ” and “ _Dean Winchester, The Michael Sword, Vessel of The First_ ”, they’re _Dean_ and _Gabriel_ and that brings them closer. That makes them more similar than their stories had made them before, and they connect together.

That’s when Dean tells him about all that happened over the past three-something years. He tells him all about Lucifer and the cage, the year with Lisa and then getting Sam back. He tells him about the pain of dealing with Soulless Sam and losing Cas to the power of the souls. He tells him about Cas and Crowley, opening purgatory and taking the souls in.

Gabriel tells him about the time without the souls, how quiet and easy Purgatory had been, and Dean thinks this is the only time that he’s smiled about the whole ordeal.

He tells the Archangel about Castiel as a God, and how terrifying he had been; about the Death and the angels and about seeing Cas go down in the reservoir.

Gabriel touches his hand, and squeezes, and they don’t say anything for a while. It’s comfort in the simplest form, and Dean is grateful. With all the horrors of his life, he’s still not sure he’s ever going to get over the pain of these past few years, but he never thought he will in the first place. It’s the ghost of all that has passed, twining around his soul, squeezing his chest and stopping his lungs from taking a deep breath, from ever being truly happy again.

But then again, he can’t remember ever being happy before, except that time with his Mom when he was young and she’d give him pieces of Apple Pie and sing him Hey Jude until he fell asleep.

But even that’s tainted by Zachariah and his death and Heaven.

So he let’s the single act of Gabriel touching his hand comfort him, and cherishes the moment because he has nothing to lose. He’s in purgatory with a dead Archangel running away from Flesh-eating Leviathans; running away from all the monsters here because he killed their Mother, which had impressed Gabriel when he told him. He thinks he understands that.

He’s happy there are no demons here. He doesn’t think he would survive meeting Azazel again, or Alistair, or Ruby for that matter.

He starts talking again, about Sam’s hallucinations and Dick Roman. About the Leviathan’s evil plan for the future and the pains of eating organic food.

Gabriel is outraged by that. He sure is protective of his candy, and Dean chuckles as they both protest at the idea of no cake, no pie, or no candy.

They keep running, killing Werewolves and skinwalkers and Shapeshifters, vampires and Kitsune.

That’s when they meet Benny. Benny is an alright Vampire, as they find out. He’s heard tales of the Portal and they listen. They start walking, keeping their guards up, but they listen to Benny as he tells them about the Portal where all can pass except those meant for purgatory. He has a nice Louisianian accent that reminds Dean of the Voodoo witch he met all those years ago in New Orleans before Katrina, and suddenly he wonders if she ever survived the hurricane.

Dean is distrustful, doesn’t want to believe in an exit pass, meant only for him - the human in the monster land - and almost dismisses the idea. He’s a monster - had been a vampire for a while too, and wouldn’t have been easier for him to have died then, anyway? It would’ve definitely been painless. But then he thinks of Sammy without his soul and Samuel running around delivering vampires to Crowley and all that’s happened and feels like a selfish prick - and does he even deserve to be on Earth anyway?

 

It’s easy in Purgatory, to an extent. It’s pure. He has Gabriel to watch his back, and he can kill the monsters here without a second thought. _Except there’s Emma, and he doesn’t want to think of his Amazon daughter but she’s on the forefront of his mind all the damn time and is she still alive? Did she ever have a chance?_

But he watches as Gabriel’s eyes light up at the prospect of an exit passage and then fall at the idea that Gabriel can’t leave. That’s not negotiable. Dean is not leaving here without Gabriel. He’s either leaving with Gabriel or not at all, which means they have to at least try.

He can’t stand the idea of ever seeing Gabriel’s face fall like that again, and he doesn’t stop to think about that, or why that is. It just is, and he accepts it as a fact because this is purgatory, and he won’t lie to himself here.

So they start following the stream and they keep off the Leviathan as much as they can. It’s difficult, with an Archangel and a human with  soul and flesh calling to the First Monsters, but they try their best. They cut of the heads of the leviathan that they meet on the way, and then hide in the bushes for a while as the blood on Dean’s hands dry and the wound on his chest stops bleeding altogether. Benny left a while back, disheartened by the idea of being a vampire, and facing the reality of having to feed if he ever got on Earth. It’s easier here, and Dean understands. They hug it out and Benny smiles, before disappearing into the woods, as if he never was.

Gabriel tries to heal Dean’s burnt back once they get attacked by a Dragon, and it ends up in a clusterfuck when he can’t. He’s anxious and doesn’t know who he is anymore, and it can’t end in anything good.

The Leviathan find the tendrils of grace, though, too little to heal but too big of a firework, and they start running again.

The portal shines through the darkness of the sky and the dead trees like a pale blue beacon of light, but it’s not enough. It’s never close enough and they almost get trapped in the midst of another big batch of leviathan again.

They’re angry, with an Archangel and the human who brought them all back to purgatory after they had been exposed to all the joys of humans on the Earth, and they are mad. They thrash and attack and try to bite and Gabriel attacks like the Heaven’s deadliest weapon, and it’s almost not enough. Dean holds his own and chops the head off the leviathan, and remembers the time he chopped the head off the leviathan that looked like himself and contemplates the health of finding joy in beheading yourself, while he chops the head off another leviathan in a corporate suit and jacket.

They start running again, even if it’s more dangerous now that everybody knows they’re going to the Portal.

But it’s their literal light at the end of the tunnel, and they hold hands while they run with all they have and Gabriel thinks of all the other times he had ran in the Garden of Eden before humans, before Leviathan, before everything.

They find the portal in the middle of the sky, shining bright and pale, blue and reminiscent of an Angel’s grace and a human’s soul at the same time. Gabriel watches as Dean’s soul catches on fire at the proximity of the portal and for a while, he just stares.

It’s the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, and he has seen a lot for a timeless being.

Gabriel knows that Dean’s special, that he has changed a lot over the few years that have passed. Gabriel thinks Dean is brighter than he was before, during the apocalypse.

It’s like an Angel’s grace, except better and brighter and more beautiful.

Gabriel understands the power of human souls, and respects it, and he thinks Dean’s soul is the most beautiful he has ever seen.

This soul has been to all of the five realms, and yet it still shines brighter than any other soul Gabriel has ever seen. It’s blue and gold and a little Amber-green on the edges, the same as the color of the Hunter’s eyes, and it’s unique.

It’s special, unique and beautiful.

Gabriel shakes himself out of his reverie and follows Dean through the rocks and the mountain towards the Portal. He prays, for the first time since years, for this to work. He doesn’t like Purgatory, with all the monsters and leviathan, so close to hell and the stench of the pit, the smell of dead flesh sticking to the air.

He wants to leave, and he wants to leave with Dean.

He follows Dean through the sound of the portal ringing in his ears, and distinctly hears the sound of the Leviathan poppin in below the mountain as they sneer.

Dean shouts his name, and is looking at him with pleading eyes as he holds a hand, feet halfway through the gaping portal already and Gabriel thinks he sees tears shining in the Hunter’s eyes.

His grace melts a little.

He takes another look at the Leviathan, trying to follow and takes another step up to portal.

He reaches, and catches Dean’s hands with his own - strong, calloused and bloody, but warm - and follows.

The portal closes with a pop, and Purgatory is no-man’s land again.

It’s quiet, dead, with growling in the distance.

The darkness dims a little.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 will be posted before Friday! Enjoy!


	3. Safe and sound?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song of the Chapter:
> 
> Safe and Sound- Taylor swift
> 
> "Just close your eyes  
> The sun is going down  
> You'll be alright  
> No one can hurt you now  
> Come morning light  
> You and I'll be safe and sound"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a lot of time, and I almost wasn't sure if I was gonna make it by "Before Friday" !  
> But I keep my promises !  
> I just wanted to thank my lovely friend Kaiden for being so amazing and bearing with me. I had so many moments when I freaked out and changed my mind about different things and Kai was just there with me all the way!  
> This chapter wouldn't be here today if Kai hadn't helped me figure out some stuff. So yay! Thanks!
> 
> Otherwise, enjoy the chapter!

It’s a flash of light, pain and breathtaking vertigo and then it’s dark. Gabriel pushes his eyes closed for a moment, squints and with a deep breath, dares to open his eyes even if he doesn’t really want to. He’s tired, and his body aches like he isn’t used to it to do, and is it too much to ask to just rest a bit?

He’s almost afraid of what he’s going to see; It’s too _quiet._

He opens his eyes, hands still clutching Dean’s, and looks around. The first thing he notices is Dean’s unconscious body lying next to his feet. Dean’s eyes are closed, and his breathing uneven, but there’s a trail of blood running down his temple. Gabriel leans down, and tries to heal the wound with his Grace. Back on Earth, things should be back to the way they were. His Pagan powers will be no more - they saved his life, he’s sure - but his grace should still be intact. He still has all his angelic senses - he can feel his many wings and heads, proud as ever; wings arching up and curling protectively around both of them, and he’s not going to ponder on the why his very own grace is so protective of this soul, even if he knows he should -  but his powers had been dormant in Purgatory. He had guessed it had something to do with the location, but he wants to make sure that he’s back to full power.

He puts his hands on Dean’s temple, and concentrates on putting every gaping wound back together, of attaching the layers of skin back together, Sodium and Potassium and nerves and epidermis all together, kickstarting the immune response, fixing the wound as if it had never been.

He tries, and concentrates, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

_Deep breath._

_In._

_Out_

_No reason to freak out, we can try again later, right?_

Instead he focuses on waking Dean up. Bastard is heavy, and Gabriel isn’t sure where they are and they need to get out of here fast.

Of course, that doesn’t work either.

Great, just what Gabriel needs at the moment.

Exasperated and slightly panicked - not that he’ll ever confirm said panicking. Panic, who? - he takes a look around. They’re in another forest, but this one pretty alive, though still considerably dark. It has a haunted feeling, and Gabriel feels like he’s being watched by a thousand eyes. _Again._

Trees are dense and Green, all squished together with minimal room to pass through. Vegetation has grown as if no human has ever seen these parts of the woods, and Gabriel realizes that that is a real possibility.

He stands up, extracts his hands from Dean’s not-so-warm-anymore body  and tries to conceal his swaying and dizziness even when there is no one to see him do so, and walks a couple steps away to get a better feel of where they are.

It’s quiet, to the point where no birds sing and no snake runs on the leaves, and with his increased sensual accuracy, Gabriel finally understands where they are.

They are in the Sea Trees forest, or Aokigahara; also known as the suicide Forest of Japan.

Awesome.

This forest is haunted like no other forest in the eastern seaboard, and why wouldn’t it be where the portal leads out of purgatory? It’s where the suicidal souls go to after, afterall. It’s one of the thinner parts of the veil that separates the mortal realm from the rest, and it somehow fits.

Not that all of that bullshit matters right now. What matters right now is getting the fuck out of here.

He walks back to the dead-to-the-world Winchester and uses his Archangelic super-strength to lift him up with a hand around the shoulder and another around the waist, and imagines himself in a luxurious hotel room in Good Ol’ America. Of course, that plan goes to hell with a handbasket when he opens his eyes and realizes they’re still where the were. In a panic, he snaps his fingers and focuses on flying out of here. That doesn’t work either.

_Must be something with the place._

He can feel his wings straining against his back, and he knows they’re not clipped or anything like that. They still function like the first day when Father first created Gabriel, but right now, they’re as useless as the wings on a fucking Turkey.

The air is thick, the smell of soil and water and moisture heavy in the air, and Gabriel sighs and takes a step forward.

If he can’t fly them out, he’ll walk. No point in sucking his thumbs in frustration when there’s still things he can do that Dean in his state of unconsciousness can’t do.

He drags Dean’s body and walks out of the forest. Which would be easy, if the place wasn’t so big and complicated. There are trees woven together so deeply he wonders how it has been naturally possible.

It’s hours later according to his angelic clock, when they get closer to the edges of the forest and into a clearing. There are tree trunks fallen on the ground, and less trees and greenery scenes - which Gabriel is fucking grateful for by now - and he can lay Dean’s body by a tree trunk and regroup.

Dean is still the same way he was - which he should’ve expected him to be, only Father knows how the trip to monsterland affected his body -  and he still has no idea why he can’t wing them away like he’s supposed to be able to do.

He takes a deep breath, steels himself against the disappointment of not being able to fly again, and puts his hands on Dean’s shoulders, closes his eyes for good measure, and focuses on getting them to a safe place in the U.S of A.

He feels more than sees the world shift around them, matter swirling and disentangling, air shifting as his wings move around swiftly, Dean’s body still present under his Vessel’s hands, and then settling in a place that is definitely less humid.

He opens his eyes, and they’re in a 5-Star hotel room.

 

_Oh Thank the absent Father and his little Mercies._

 

He lifts Dean into the King-sized bed in the middle of the room and pulls them comforter around him. He wills filthy clothes away and disintegrates them out of existence, and replaces them with the clean and much more expensive versions of the same style. No reason Dean can’t have the best clothes after suffering a year in a place he had no reason to be in the first place, right?

That’s all there is. That’s all.

Yep.

And Gabriel is going to find Sam, give him an anonymous call with Dean’s address and disappear.

He is back on Earth, and he can be the king of Earth - and Heaven, and tiny voice in the back of his grace reminds him - if he wants to. It wouldn’t even take that much of an effort on his part. Both worlds are in enough distress and disarray as is. The prayers he’s received from both humans and Angels since his trip back to Earth have updated him on matters enough.  

 

_Right. Huh. As if._

Oh, how the times have changed him.

Well, more like how Dean's changed him, but then that'd be giving Dean too much credit, and Gabriel none.

Well, he's changed.

For the better, he hopes.

 

***

 

It takes Dean another day or so to finally wake up after Gabriel finally gathers enoguh courage to try again and heal him. It works this time, and Gabriel totally does not grant himself another batch of Butterfingers after that. He’s over candies like he’s over whatever the hell happened these past few years.

Yeah, right.

Candy is the best thing that ever happened to Gabriel, and he’s gonna stop the poetic shit right there.

Gabriel uses the time wisely, and finds whatever hell-hole Sam has disappeared to in the mean time.

He half expected the younger Winchester to either go Batshit-crazy over losing his brother, or having found a Feisty lil woman for himself and living the _Normal Apple Pie with Betty and Lucky._

What he finds is neither of those. What he gets instead is Sam hiding with the new Prophet, a cute little floppy haired teenager of a guy, in a cabin in the middle of Nowhere, Montana.

Kevin Tran, the troubled little Prophet, is listening to music in the huge basement downstairs, trying to decipher a Tablet. From what Gabriel sees on the walls and boards and pictures around the room, he guesses it’s the Leviathan Tablet. He has a moment of confusion when he wonders why they would be going over the Tablet when they’ve already banished the flesh-eaters back to Purgatory when he has that big epiphany.

Of course Sam wouldn’t let go of Dean just disappearing after the Fall of Dick - he remembers the laugh he had with Dean over the accuracy of the name, and the innuendos that came with it while they ran away after another run in with the Leviathan back in Purgatory and suppresses a smile - Sam would have tried to find out what happened. The end of the Leviathan story had been too much of an open-ending for Sam to accept. Gabriel just hopes Sam didn’t go crazy in the absence of Dean the way he had in the previous times. That boy never did learn the lessons Gabriel had tried so hard to teach him. It’s a pity, really. It would’ve been so much easier for all of them if he had.

He walks up the basement and goes to the living room, where he finds Sam sprawled over the ancient couch which in no way accommodates his giant body. Gabriel tugs the blanket from where it has gotten tangled in Sam’s legs and throws it over the kid. It’s all Dean’s fault really. The big brother protectiveness must’ve gotten to him too. Damn that stupid chucklehead of the Winchester for having an affect on him.

_He’s a fucking Archangel, Damn it!_

He lingers a bit longer in the Cabin in the middle of the Forest, but disappears when he feels Dean stir back in the Hotel room he made up. It’s really another middle of nowhere place where they can go undetected, and that’s exactly what they need.

He can’t get a read on Dean’s soul since the trip back to Earth, and he needs to find out what else has changed. Because something has, and he needs to know what.

Actions have consequences; He’s learned that much during his recent experiences.

When he goes back to the Hotel room, he finds Dean squirming on the bed, still not awake enough to be aware of his surroundings but asleep enough to suffer from nightmares.

_Do they still count as nightmares if you experience your memories again, in your sleep? or are the just memories?_

Gabriel sits on the bed, far away not to be intruding, but close enough to offer his comfort and puts his hand softly on top of Dean’s. They’ve been brothers in arms, companions and partners in a war against purgatory for so long, they’ve gotten used to the comfort they offer each other. They found comfort in one another’s presence, and they’re going to need it even more now that they’ve gotten out. 

It’s the principle of the matter, really.

So he sits there silently, rubbing his thumb over Dean’s calloused knuckles, and waits for him to wake up. It takes a minute or two, but when he does Gabriel is assaulted by the sight of brilliant moss green eyes and a sleepy face.

“We got out?” Dean says, his voice scratchy and deep, but trusting. Trusting Gabriel to take over and get them to a safe place after getting out. It makes Gabriel’s throat tighten a little as a lump settles in, and his wings curl around the soul protectively.

“Yeah, we did. Sam’s been looking for you this whole year. We can pay’em a visit later if you want.” , is Gabriel’s soft reply. His right thumb still rubbing over Dean’s left hand, none of them backing away.

Dean’s brows furrow in confusion, and he asks “Them?” in a whisper so soft nobody except a being with special powers wouldn’t have heard him. His eyes have drifted closed again, and he’s on the verge of sleep.

So Gabriel replies just as softly, not wanting to disturb the little rest Dean is getting after a whole year of constant running, “ Sam and Kevin, the prophet. They’re in this cabin up in middle of Montana, which I suspect you’d recognize. Didn’t see the nerdy angel with them, before you ask.” He smiles a little, and closes his own eyes as he lays back against the headboard.

The silence of the room is as comforting as it is deafening. After decades, if not centuries, in Purgatory he’s used to chaos. The comfort that comes with quiet of Earth is rendered useless by the fact that it feels too much like the calm before the storm.

He needs to slow down, adapt to the way things are, switch back to normalcy… But it’s too difficult, and he’s having trouble adjusting.

He strongly suspects Dean will too, when he’s more awake.

Purgatory is not something you can easily forget, especially for a human.

So he procures Snickers and munches on the Good-ol’ mix of chocolate goodness and pretends everything is fine, because he always has, and he doesn’t know how to stop.

He needs to stop, he knows.

He just doesn’t want to.

It’s easier this way.

 

Dean finally gets up over a couple hours later, when it’s around 10 in the morning in Elk Herd Nation. He is confused over the state of his clothes, before he looks at Gabriel with a barely-there thankful smile and mutters a small thanks.

All his weapons are still in there, and Gabriel guesses that makes him feel safer. More like himself. Gabriel would be the same way, if he needed weapons like humans do.

For him, it’s just his own being and grace. It’s pretty straightforward.

Which will make it much harder if he somehow lost his Grace, but he has no reason to think that will ever happen.

He’s the only Archangel on Earth and Heaven, and the only one with the power against him is Death himself. And Father, if he ever decided to show up. Ever.

So he’s not much worried about him, but the fragile humans he’s deciding to surround himself with.

Because he knows he won’t leave now that he’s back on Earth.

He’s not a Pagan god anymore, and even so he has no reason to hide in his Witness program anymore, either.

Lucifer and Michael are in the little Cage of Hell, and Raphael is no mas. He has every right to do whatever the hell he wants.

As long as it doesn’t involve mass destruction, that is. He’s pretty sure he won’t survive that one as long as the Winchesters are alive. And anyway, that would be pretty idiotic considering how and why he died in the first place.

They leave the imaginary Hotel room after some shuffling around, and of course after Gabriel has explained to Dean what happened after the passed through the Portal.

Dean just shrugs his shoulders and says “Makes sense, “ and moves on, like his own well being does not matter to him. Like he could care less, and it’s eating at Gabriel from inside.

He knows how self-loathing Dean has been - Frankly, he sympathizes with him a little, considering he hates himself inside too and doesn’t that make him sound like a fucking hypocrite - but Dean has always shined more than other humans. He has such positive effects on everything holy, it’s substantial. He’s the man that was righteous enough to start the Apocalypse, and yet strong enough to end it. He’s the one to slay the flesh-eating Leviathan  out of Earth, and still powerful enough to survive decades of Purgatory on top of it as well, and come out of it still brilliant. Beautiful, brilliant, and …

Gabriel really needs to stop.

Being around Dean now, unable to see the shining soul but still able to feel it’s purity, is messing with Gabriel’s senses.

He needs to find Castiel and see if he’s having the same problem, as well.

This is important.

 

Which is when he snaps his fingers and flies them out of the Hotel and Back to the Elk Nation. They’re in the middle of the forest, and why the hell not, it’s raining. They walk and run the next few yards to the door of the Cabin and shield themselves against the rain.

 

Dean’s face is pensive, and he seems determined. He nods to himself once, turns and looks at Gabriel again briefly, before knocking on the wooden door of the Cabin.

 

***

Dean takes a deep breath, and wills himself to chill the fuck out. He’s just going to see Sammy, and they’re going to be fine. Sammy has been fine this past year, Gabriel reassured him, and he’s going to be happy to see Dean again.

_Why would he? He was finally free. He had a chance to go and have a normal life. Go get a girl, a dog, an apple pie life. And you’re ruining every chance of that. You were away, and he was fine.._

His internal turmoil is stopped when the door is suddenly yanked open and they are assaulted by a splash of holy oil over both their faces. Great. See, he expected that, of course, but it doesn’t make it any less spectacular. Just what he needed on top of getting soaked in the rain. He rolls his eyes, but is again assaulted by a huge weight against his front. All he hears is a stern and desperate “Dean,” before he’s attacked by his giant of a little brother.

_Literally._

See, at first he thinks he’s been gathered in a bear hug by Sammy, which, great right? But no, that plan is thrown right out of the window when he feels Sam’s biceps straining to put his arms behind his back and trying to hold him down.

After a year in purgatory, he acts on instinct. He can’t help it. It’s instilled in him.

Attack, Protect. Attack, attack back. Punch, kick, turn, duck, dodge, punch. It doesn’t even register as a process anymore. It’s in his blood and soul.

So when he finds himself holding Sam down on the ground, with Sam’s hazel eyes looking up at him in fear, he is mostly reminded of Purgatory.

But then just as instantly, he’s reminded of the night he went and grabbed Sam out of his apartment, years ago.

Sam, floppy haired and not really in shape, trying to defend poor little Jessica.

It feels like history’s repeating itself, with Dean barging in on Sam’s new life again, right after Sam had gotten rid of him for good..

Yeah, he needs to stop his self-loathing crap for now.

So, he plasters on a goofy smile, and leans back from his spot on top of Sam’s abdomen, his thighs and shins around Sam’s body, straddling him.

“Heya, Sammy! “

The myriad of emotions running through Sam’s eyes can only be described as grieved.

Like Sam tried to find Dean, but failed. Like he tried and tried, and finally gave up. Like he thought Dean was dead, and couldn’t accept the fact. Like Dean mattered, and his disappearance affected him. Which Dean would call bullshit on, if the sincerity of Sam’s expressions hadn’t rendered him speechless.

For a short few seconds, all he hears is his own and Sam’s labored breathing. Then, Sam takes a deep breath, and in a voice that breaks in the end, asks, “Dean?”

It’s like all the other hundreds of times that little Sammy had called Dean’s name. The way he had said it when he’s had a bad case of Pneumonia in 1989, or when Dean got back from the Boy’s home when Sam was 12. It’s broken, and disbelieving, and maybe a little teary on the sides.

Besides, Dean's teary eyed himself. It’s not like anybody would know.

What with the rain splashing all around and over them, and the splash of Holy water from Kevin, his face is beyond wet at this point.

He can indulge a little.

He can hear Gabriel and Kevin talking in the background, but it’s muted, and he can’t really understand what they’re saying. But none of that matters.

Because for the first time since getting out of Purgatory, it finally sinks in that _He’s out, alive,  back with his brother and safe._

Well, as safe as any of them could be, really.

 

After All, they are the Winchesters.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter is going to be up by next Friday at the latest. I'll try to get it done by Wednesday, but that's probably just wishing on my part. I have a University Orientation on Sat and a Scholarship Orientation on Mon, so my schedule is a bit more hectic than normal.  
> But, this is important to me, so I'll get it in soon!  
> Thanks for reading !  
> I'll see you next week!


	4. They say it's the Crucification of a faithless believer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine:  
> Cum Sanctus tuis in aeternum: quia pius es.  
> Requiem aeternam dona eis. Domine: et lux  
> perpetua luceat eis. Cum Sanctis tuis in  
> aeternum: quia pius es.
> 
> Requiem - Mozart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is late. And not edited. I need to come back and edit this shit.  
> I apologize!  
> This week took a lot out of me, both physically and mentally.  
> Writing was always at the forefront of my mind, but I didn't always have the presence of mind or even the physical ability to write at those moments, which lead to a late update! I am deeply sorry!  
> Here is chapter 4!   
> This is where things get interesting!  
> I feel like I should warn y'all. My username in tumblr Is AngstMastHer. I am not a fluffy writer. Please expect some level of angst. Please go read my previous story to familiarize yourself with my style! Ask any of my friends and followers. I am evil, and I will break your heart. You have been warned.   
> Now, go enjoy some brotherly moments!

Gabriel stands to the side and watches as Dean reunites with his brother. He can feel the Prophet standing in front of the door, so he turns his head around and takes a good look at the kid for the first time.

Kevin Tran.

Gabriel had become acquainted to the names of Prophets for quite some time.

Gabriel; the “trusted guide for the prophets” on Heven and Earth.

What a way to meet the foretold, right?

He really hopes he doesn’t have to go explaining stuff like had to with Luke, or _Daniel_ , again. That was tiring.

Kid seems to know what he’s doing, though, which is as positive a first impression as he could’ve given to an Archangel with Gabriel's experience.

Gabriel realizes he’s been staring, so he relaxes his postures, gives the kid a mock salute, and introduces himself, “ Hey there kiddo! Gabriel, here. If you’ve got any questions, don’t ask me. ‘Kay? now, do you have any chocolate bars in this creepy cabin of yours? “ as he entered the cabin. From what he had learned the last time he had snooped on Sam and Kev, he already knew what the cabin looks like. However, he doesn’t pass up the opportunity to look even more closely.

There is a fireplace on the side, lit and pulsing warmth throughout the cabin. The cabin itself is not very big, but has a very homey feel to it. Gabriel can feel the many different spells and sigils put up all around the cabin to make it safe.

The cabin is not only demon proof, it’s partly angel-proof as well. Which begs the question, Where the hell is little bro?

He hasn’t waited for anybody else to come inside, but he feels it when the brothers and the prophet both enter and close the door.

Dean is dripping wet from the rain, and Sam is doing no better.

Well, that wouldn’t do, now would it? He’s still not sure how Dean’s body is going to react after spending over a century in Purgatory. So, what he can do for now is making sure he’s not hurt physically, until he can get a second angel’s opinion on Dean’s soul as well. He has no idea what’s shielding the soul against his powers, but he has no idea how the soul is faring. The spiritual side is a blank.

He has no trouble reading other people’s souls; such as the Prophet’s bright soul with the frayed edges and yellow and purple hues, or Sam’s battered yet otherwise healthy blue and purple one. But then he turns and looks at Dean, and all he can see is Dean’s body.

It’s frustrating, to say the least.

With a quick “Tsk, tsk” and shake of his head, he snaps and dries all of their clothing. Catching a cold in bumfuck America is not on his agenda. Where the hell is this place anyway? And who ever thought of naming a town _“Whitefish”_ ?

Dean shuffles around awkwardly and moves to one of the Couch-beds on the side of the living room, where newspapers, books and notes are discarded everywhere. Plaid shirts and a few jeans are thrown on the other bunk bed on the side, and tv is catching dust, with a few other books stacked on top of it.

It’s like a looney-toon’s crazy library, is what this looks like. Which isn’t all that bad, considering it means Sam at least cared enough this time to look for Dean. Unlike the last time when he had went all revenge-crazy on Lillith’s ass. Maybe the kid had learned something, after all.

Gabriel snaps again and the whole mess clears up. Books all stack neatly against the wall, and the papers all go together into a folder on top of the books. He cleans the shirts and throws them in Sam’s duffel bag. Then, he promptly sat on the couch and created another Butterfinger’s for himself to chew on.

Sam is standing awkwardly on the side, embarrassed, and he mumbles a bit before motioning for others to sit down as well. Kevin sits on the bunk bed, while Dean settles next to Gabriel, with Sam sitting alone on the other couch where he can be face to face with his brother.

Dean turns his head around, and raises one eyebrow questioningly in response to Gabriel’s latest actions. Gabriel doesn’t respond much beyond shrugging his eyebrows and munching on the glorious butterfingers. Boy, did he miss peanut butter and chocolate.

He had thought that losing his Norse powers would get rid of his insatiable need for all things sweet and sugary, but as far as he’s gathered so far, that is not the case. He no longer depends on the stuff, but they are still as glorious and lovable as ever.

Sam clears his throat, and after running his hand through his mane-hair, asks “So.. uh, how.. how are you …?”

Intelligent, and understandable. Such nice words and articulation.

“Articulate! Didn’t know you had in ya, Sammy boy!” Gabriel snarks, and he can feel some of the tension leaving Sam’s body as his muscles relax. He is rewarded by one of Sam’s many bitch-faces, which is as much of a response as he had hoped to get. He’s going to leave the actual answer to the question to Dean, however. His brother, and all.

Dean clears his throat and glances at Gabriel briefly, before starting to explain, “ I don’t know if you knew but uh.. apparently, ganking the Leviathan gave me a one-way ticket to Monsterland…”

Sam interrupts Dean and says, “Purgatory? Right, yeah we found out about that after you uh, disappeared. We were looking for ways to get you out but, there was nothing, Dean. Kevin looked into the Leviathan Tablet again and I tried … “

Gabriel stops Sam short in the middle of sentence, cutting off the guilt-babble that is rapidly approaching, “ Yeah, getting into purgatory is generally impossible. Unless, you know, you go the extremes that my little bro went to and open the door wide open. Where is he anyway? “ he asks as he snaps himself another butterfingers. Maybe he should switch to a more chocolate-based candy, seeing as he is getting more impatient. This wouldn’t do.

 

They are all staring at him when Sam clears his throat and responds, “ He uh, disappeared. After you stabbed Dick”, He has gone back to looking at his brother again, “ He just.. uh, grabbed Kevin and I, and got us out. Dropped us off here but.. “

This time, it’s the Kevin that picks up the trail, “ We never saw or heard from him again, and we tried. But he’s off the radar.” He turns his head and looks at Gabriel and asks, “ Aren’t you like, an Archangel? Can’t you just find him? “

Gabriel pretends to think for a second before answering, honstly - _Father forbid, what has happened him?_ \- , “I could, but that’ll alert the whole Host to my presence, and I don’t want that. Not when I have no idea what’s happening upstairs.”

Dean nods his head quietly, and Gabriel knows that he understands. They had had a lot of time on their hands during the years in purgatory, and Gabriel is generally a talkative person. He had talked, and told Dean more about himself than he had to anybody else, ever. Dean understood him even more than before, and that's saying something, and they had understood each other more than others had even before purgatory.

Sam, however, is just as impatient as Gabriel is to learn about his brother and what happened to him , “ So.. uh, how’d you get out?” he asks, glancing at both Dean and Gabriel for an answer.

Dean takes this one, though, bless his looks. Gabriel’s been taking most of the weight of this talk as it is. He’s out. This is Dean’s talk, not his.

Dean shrugs once before looking Sam in the eyes, “ Uh, apparently Humans aren’t even meant to go purgatory. Ever. So uh, me being there.. it, created sort of a .. _The Door To Narnia_ tunnel that could let uh.. what did you say?” He asks, glancing back to Gabriel, with a confused look in his eyes, “ _‘Those not meant for purgatory’_ out. So, we hauled us out of there when as fast as we could, which wasn’t as fast as you’d think. “ He finishes with a sour look in his eyes. Gabriel understands, wholeheartedly.

Kevin, however, does not. “How long were you there?”

Gabriel makes a quick calculation, based on what he knows, and asks to make sure, “How long has it been since the Dick-squad? A year? Time in Monster’s house is the same it is in Hell or Heaven, so.. about 100 years? Give or take a few. “

He can physically feel the shock radiating from Sam and Kevin. Which is understandable. How old does that make Dean, anyway? With the time from hell and Purgatory.. hmm around 173? Huh. Still quite young, if you ask him.

Sam has to try for a few times before he gains his voice, “So … you were.. for .. a century? How.. “

“Well, let me tell you, tall bean, him going off and killing not only Mother of All, but Dick Friggin Roman, as well didn’t make him any more of a dear to the community. Do you know how hard it was, saving his ass some of those times? Those big bags of black goo are brutal ! “ He exclaimed, righteously, in his opinion.

Which, automatically, resulted in an indignant “Hey!” from Dean, and a chuckle from Kevin. Sam, it seemed, was still in shock.

This time, it was Sam’s turn to turn the metaphorical questioning microphone on him and set him up on jeopardy. “So, how are you alive? I thought angels, just.. died, when they died. Not, you know, end up in purgatory. So how are you alive?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes at the pleased chuckle that he could hear from Dean. Of course, he would laugh at this. Bastard.

“Well, it seems that my witness protection saved me. Luci ran his blade into my chest, and Norse Magic activated. Voila, I have a ride to Purgatory, all alone and confused. For you two chuckleheads, let me remind you. It wasn’t fun! “ He adds the last comment indignantly, as if there were any qualms about the fun in purgatory. The place has a purity to it, that is true, but it is not a fun place at all. No TV, no candy. All run run run.. It’s like a day in an office.

“So, here I am, still kicking and still looking pretty as ever!” He finishes, with a waggle of his eyebrows, not directed at anyone in particular, as he breaks a piece of his Kit Kat to chew on. He offers some to the others, not for the sake of being impolite, “Candy? “ Which, of course, is a no from their side. Vermins. _Who doesn’t like candy?!_

They are silent for a while, before Dean asks the real question, “So, what’s been happening topside?”

 

Sam shares a look with Kevin, before starting, “Well, the whole Leviathan thing left a lot of people in shock. People thought they’d gone crazy, and the government was all over the Roman Enterprises for Poisoning the food after they all left.. It was a mess. Kevin and I  just hid for a while for things to cool down, with Mrs. Tran showing up here and there. Mostly, we were looking for ways to get you out, and since I’m still known as a Serial Killer,  I couldn’t quite go hunting as we used to but ..uh, I went on a few here and there when Garth hooked me up.”

This got Dean’s attention, “Wait, Garth? Garth, _Mr. Fizzles_ , Garth? “ Which earns him a full on grin from Sam.

“Uh, yeah. He’s picked up Bobby’s role, since then. Networks hunters and everything.” He nods.

Dean looks surprised for a few moments before claiming as much, “Can’t say I saw that one comin’ “, he says in a voice still grieved in loss of his Pseudo-Father. Gabriel understands, in a way. Losing family never does get easier. The pain stays there, sharp and never dull, scratching at your soul and grace for a long while to come.

 

It was quiet for a while, before Dean started rubbing at his eyes with sudden weariness and exhaustion that Gabriel could sense in the deepest parts of Dean’s muscles, and then Kevin asked, “So, what now?”

 

Gabriel, however, was still focused on the sudden wave of exhaustion that had came over Dean. He had to be careful. Since no other human had ever been to Purgatory and gotten out, he had no idea how it would affect the human’s body. Therefore, he was going to take every single cautionary measure that he could. “Dean, you okay?” He whispered quietly, looking at Dean in concern.

Dean was now blinking rapidly and taking shallow breaths. This was not good. This so was not good. But, before he could do anything, Dean responded, in a voice that was so tired it could even make Gabriel want to sleep for a few decades, “ Yeah, I think I just need to sleep for a bit. Seems I’m not as up to full speed as I’d thought.” He finished, running his hands over his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Sam was quick to jump on any chance to help his brother, and took charge.

Yeah, uh, we’ll go to the basement so you can sleep here. Here, take the bed.”

In between all of them, it wasn’t long before they had settled an almost-catatonic Dean to bed and proceeded to leave the room.

As soon as they were in the basement - and boy, did it look like a Sex-torture dungeon - Sam turns back to him and asks in a frightened voice, “What the hell was that, back there?! I thought he was fine! “

Gabriel is just as stressed, but he has better control over himself, thank you very much, “I thought he was fine too, but no human’s ever been to Purgatory before, and I just don’t know, Okay, big boy? And I don’t exactly the means to check him over the way I want to! “

“What do you mean? “

“I.. “ He hesitates for a moment, before he slumps and gives it up, “I can’t see his soul anymore, since we got out. It’s there, I know it’s there but.. it’s.. shielded, in a way. I can’t exactly describe it. I don’t know if it’s just me or if it’s his soul, which is why I needed little bro to check him over, too. “

“What?” is Sam’s stunned reaction, which to be honest, Gabriel had expected. Kevin’s “Angels can see souls?” on the other hand? That, he had not expected. He doesn’t answer Kevin, either. Guy’s smart, he can figure it out. The question’s rhetorical anyway.

Sam shuffles on his feet for a few seconds before he starts to ask in a timid voice, “I can’t lose him again, not now.. not when I just go-..” His pleas however, are cut short when Gabriel can feel the change in the atmosphere around him. He turns around, terrified, and finds his fears confirmed as he looks at Kevin, whose eyes are alight with fire and whose soul is bright with determination and purpose.

He grumbles, half-heartedly, “Oh Father, no.. This can’t be good.”

Kevin is possessed by the need to get to the other tablet, is what Gabriel’s gathered so far. Which, great. Like any of these Prophet stuff are fun, but the timing is picking at him. What are the chances that the kid would be chosen for another Word Of God translation job just as Dean and him get out? The timing can’t be a coincidence.

They all rush out of the basement as Kevin leaves. Sam is surprised and is calling on Kevin, as if that’ll make a difference. All it would do is wake Dean up.

Speaking of which..

Gabriel is the first to the living room where Dean is sleeping, and sighs in exasperation when he sees him, “No, this is definitely not Good. Worse than Good. This is bad. This is  _let’s let apocalypse happen_ level of bad. No. Not Good.”

Boy, this is gonna end in blood and tears. He just knows it.

He just hope the tears are not his own.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dahduuda duunnnn.   
> What is that? Is that a hanger, hanging to a cliff? A Cliffhanger? What?
> 
> Next chapter will be up by Thursday!   
> See ya then!


	5. Watcher of the Eternal Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” 
> 
> \- Matthew 7:8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late Chapter, I know! I'll make it up to you by giving you a chapter tomorrow. Deal? Well, I need to get back to schedule too. I missed a week.  
> Anyway, here is the chapter. It will explain some things, but not much. Most of the action and explanations are the next chapter. I needed a transition chapter. Therefore it's only 2100 words. Tomorrow will be longer. 
> 
> The translation and explanation of some of the text will be at the End notes if I can't make it so that it'll explain it on hover. So, checkout the End notes. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not a religious fanatic or anything. Most of the stuff I use are by my own interpretation and are in fact, used for fiction. This is fiction. Just, Disclaimer. 
> 
> In the end, please tell me your theories of what is happening! I would love to hear them! 
> 
> Enjoy!

After the others leave, Dean closes his eyes and lays on the bunk bed. It’s too comfortable for his liking, but he intends to get used to all things earthly once again. Purgatory had been a phase, a longer phase than his whole life before combined, but a phase nonetheless. They were out now. He had no reason to hide beneath the trees and lay on the ground. He has accommodations and tools with which he can be more comfortable, as is in human nature.

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and lets sleep take him. When he feels himself delving deeper and deeper into the dreamland, he realizes that something isn’t right. It’s his hunter’s instinct, screaming at him.

He opens his eyes, but he is not in the Cabin anymore. He isn’t anywhere he’s ever been before, which is saying something. He lets his eyes roam around, identifying the scenery around him.

The scenes around him are bouts of color, ever changing and beautiful. Indescribable. There was no beginning and no ending. No existence, but no death either. This place, time, whatever… It just was.

He sees the rise of empires and the fall of the Earth. He sees the Lightbringer as he is in the highest circles of heaven, and he sees the hatred he radiates in the end. He sees the beginning of the Existence, the blink of light, the spark of grace; and he sees Death, in his utmost glory, as he takes over the Creation in the end.

He sees Creation, Destruction and Absolution. Creation and Destruction, one and the same. Both ends to one mean. Different sides of the same coin.

He sees everything as it was meant, as it is, and as it is going to be.

He watches the past move across his eyes, relieves the present, and all the possible futures.

All in the blink of an eye and the next.

He sees everything, and he understands.

Next thing Dean knows,  he feels a tug at his soul - or what feels like his soul,  at least - and he wakes up.

It’s bright, too bright, and he’s not where he is supposed to be. _It’s too bright, it’s too bright._ Purgatory is always dark, a twilight in it’s own right, never bright enough to catch rays of sun or blooms of Light.

He’s not where he’s supposed to be, and that only means danger.

He jumps up from the place he had fallen asleep, and looks towards the source of light. He’s not where he’s supposed to be, and he’s _alone_.

He’s pretty sure he’s not supposed to be alone. It has been ages since he’s woken up alone. Someone else is supposed to be there with him, and he’s not.

He feels his breath hitch and become faster as he looks at the light, it’s _too bright too bright_ , and sees three figures standing. One is too tall - _Kill kill kill kill_ \- but the other two were much shorter. One was familiar. One, he knew for ages.

One was meant to be there next to him, not in front of him.

_Where was he?_

Dean feels the edges of his panic-induced ebb away and the light dims. It’s truly not as bright as he thought it was. He hears the sound of rain, thunder and storm in the distance, beating against the earth and trees outside of the Cabin, the roof above them. He hears some of the rain drop on the edges of the wood. He hears animals moving around in the Forest outside the cabin, breaking the Autumn leaves. _Is he supposed to hear that?_

He’s back in Rufus’ cabin. He’s out of Purgatory. He’s with Gabe, Sam and Kevin.

_He’s out. He’s safe._

What was he dreaming about? He knows he dreamt about something, something important, but he can’t seem to be able to remember it. There’s a roadblock in his mind, stopping him from remembering. That’s weird, right?

He drops back to the bed, once against exhausted and tired, and combs his hand through his hair. Not much time seems to have past, judging from the light falling on the furniture in the room. Therefore, he hasn’t been asleep for long. However, from the tension of the room, he can fairly guess that something has happened. Or they all suddenly developed Creepy Stalker fetishes and wanna watch him in his sleep like Cas used to. Which is not probable. So.

“What happened?”, he asks the room in general, but his eyes focus on Gabriel. Mostly because he trusts the angel, and also because he seems to be more in the know than the others. Archangelic powers and all that jazz.

Oh god, he needs a drink. Right about the fuck now.

It’s been too long since he had a drink. Too fucking long.

Even water would suffice.

But, first off, he needs to find out what happened. All other can wait for later.

***

Gabriel touches Kevin’s shoulder and pulses a ray of his grace into the Prophet’s body to delay the urge to look for the tablet. Now that the new Tablet has been activated, other angels would know too. With another pulse of his grace, he inscribes protection into the ribs of the young Prophet much similar to the way Castiel had for the Winchesters. Except, in this case, he leaves himself out of the equation so that he can find the Prophet if need be. He is the Messenger who delivereth the Word Of God. Protecting the Prophets is one of his main duties as an Archangel. His main duty, arguably.

Then, when he’s sure that the urge has subsided for the time being, turns his back to Dean. Dean’s eyes are open, lit up from the inside with a Fiery Golden color similar to His grace, and the grace of creation. He’s lighting up, and for the first time since the whole debacle started, Gabriel is happy that he cannot sense Dean’s soul. This would’ve been too overwhelming, even for an Archangel of his girth, to witness. At the last minute, when he sense the light pulsing lighter and lighter around Dean, he turns back to the taller Winchester and the Prophet and instructs them to close their eyes.

Dean’s eyes are open, but it’s obvious he’s not seeing. His mouth opens then, and he speaks for the first time. His voice is not heavenly, such as is with an Angel’s true voice, but it’s not his usual voice either. It’s otherworldly, ethereal, heavenly in a pure sense.

“BALTOH BALTAN BALZAZRIS. BAMS BASADA BELIORE BIA BERIGIDA”, he says. Gabriel is stunned. Too stunned to comprehend what is happening, too stunned to move.

He does not understand.

This does not make any sense.

It has been ages since a Righteous Man has done God’s work in his name. Well, that is not true. Dean has been the Chosen. He’s the first of the Righteous to be truly chosen in a way that allows him to carry Father’s will in his place. But this? This doesn’t make any sense at all.

It makes less sense than some reality shows. And that’s saying something.

He remembers Peter as he scribed, “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds…”

And it is written, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

His Grace reeling, Gabriel remembers the song, as it sang, "The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it."

It will be just like his father to do something like this. Yes, Father works in Mysterious ways. Fair, but with a wicked sense of humor and justice that Gabriel seems to have inherited.

But this is neither fair, nor humorous. This is his father, deciding the path that someone else - someone who has already done enough, seen enough - without giving them a choice.

Whatever this is, this could only end badly. At least for Dean, and consequently Gabriel. They have gotten close, and he has inadvertently gotten attached to Dean such as he had avoided for millennia since he left Heaven.

The light coming from Dean’s body subsides after a few seconds, and his eyes fall closed. His body is slumped for a few seconds before his eyes open again, this time with terror, and he jumps out of the bed. He wavers on his feet, blinking his eyes rapidly, breathing shallowly, panicking.

Gabriel just stands there, directly in Dean’s eyesight, and hopes that his presence would sooth Dean’s panic.

He has dealt with Dean’s panic such as this before, and he has expected it when coming back to Earth.

It’s simple PTSD. He needs to stay in sight.

It takes a few more moments in which thankfully neither Sam nor Kevin say anything and Dean’s eyes clear. He takes a look at Gabriel, absently nods his head, and drops back to the bed unceremoniously.

He combs his hand through his hair, making the case of the bedhead he had even worse - Gabriel would make fun of it if it was the right time for that - and Looks back to the three of them, letting his eyes focus on Gabriel Expectantly.

Oh no, Mother Teresa, he didn’t.  Sure, he’s the Archangel. Sure, he probably has the best inkling of what just happened out of the three of them right now, and the other two are probably expecting an answer too, but this is so not fair!

Why is he always supposed to be the responsible one? The knowledgeable one?

He just wanted his candies and some Casa Erotica and a couple imaginary strippers to deliver some sweet, poetic Justice.

He didn’t sign up for this.

Well he did, but he left! He quit the fucking Circus ages ago! He-

_Well, he wasn’t technically a Pagan no more, now was he?_

He sighs and opens his mouth to explain what happened - in his best knowledge at least - When there is a flutter of wings disturbs the silence.

Gabriel quickly whips his head around - dropping his sword in his hand, ready to destroy the intruder - when he notices that the intruder is in fact his little bro, Castiel.

Well, this is just fantastic. More more people to listen in, why not.

Speaking of which, he snaps his fingers once with determination. In an instant, Castiel pinches his face in pain and annoyance, before tilting his face at Gabriel wih confusion. Gabriel notices the aura of distrust and suspicion coming from Sam and the Prophet, but ignores them in favor of explaining his particular action at Castiel.

“Hidden from Heaven. Don’t need Big Brother listening on us  with their Telescreens.”, which only confuses Castiel even more, even if it illicits a “1984? Really?” comment from Sam. So, he’s forced to dummy it down a little. “Heaven. The Host. Listening in. Capische?” and looks back at Cassie, expecting a confirmation.

“Yes, I.. Capische. Gabriel. “

"Castiel, " He acknowledges. They stare at each other for a little while, catching up with each other through their bond. No need for words, feelings, or even explanation. Castiel is caught up on what’s up in no time.

Father bless Angelic Air Drop, really. Humans got no idea what they’re missing.

Castiel turns his head, eyes looking directly at Dean who’s rubbing his hands up and down on his forehead, apparently trying to get rid of a headache.

Gabriel still doesn't understand why humans do that when they have a headache. It doesn’t do anything. Headaches usually have nothing to with the muscles. It’s pointless !

Castiel stares at Dean for a few moments again, then tilts his head in confusion, tugging at Gabriel with his wings for an explanation.

Gabriel resorts to a simple, “Different, isn’t he?” which apparently confuses the tired Hunter. “What? What’s different? Why am I different?” with a confused frown on his face.

Gabriel ignores him for a moment, instead trading notes with Castiel; the Angel who grabbed Dean’s perky little ass and danced the way out of hell. Or something like that.

“I seem to be unable to observe his soul. It is still there, that much is apparent, but I am unable to reach it further, even with the profound bond we share.” Castiel explains.

Gabriel sighs and responds, “That’s what I was afraid of. It’s been like this since we Tango’d our way out of Levi-land.”

Which is probably Sam’s breaking point. “Gabriel. Cas. One of you. Explain what the fuck is going on. Now. “

It’s not just Sam, Gabriel realizes. It’s all of the humans. _Clueless humans._

He rolls his eyes, sighs and snaps himself some Twix.

Time to be a grownup and explain how the bees work to the bitten.

What a time to be alive, right?

_Right._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “BALTOH BALTAN BALZIZRAS. BAMS BASADA BELIORE BIA BERIGIDA” (Enochian, rough translation): 
> 
> Righteousness shall lead in His Justice, And Judgment to the Fallen shall come forth. Let them Forget His Glory for their comfort, that His Voice shall Awaken them from their Sleep. 
> 
> "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds…" 
> 
> \- Peter, 2:7 and 2:8 King James Version, (and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds…)
> 
> “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” 
> 
> -Romans, 1:17 (For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." )


	6. Here Roars the Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The devil that you know  
> Is better  
> Than the one you don't  
> And so it goes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refresher course: 
> 
> “BALTOH BALTAN BALZAZRIS. BAMS BASADA BELIORE BIA BERIGIDA” is what Dean says in Enochian. 
> 
> Song of the chapter: Secret Garden - When the Darkness Falls  
> Why? No idea. It inspired this Chapter. Also, Hey Jude came up a lot while I was writing this, so that too! 
> 
> Enjoy!

They sit down in the living room when Gabriel is ready to explain what is happening. Sam is still not sure how to react, but he keeps his cool for Dean’s sake. No need to freak Dean out for no reason. This could be nothing. A .. _freak of nature, a glitch in the system, right?_

Which would’ve helped calm Sam down, except he kept remembering Dean, lying in bed with his eyes open and glowing, muttering in a weird language which sounded like Enochian…

It probably was Enochian, the way Gabriel had paled at the words. Or any other language, ever, really. Gabriel was an Archangel. Nothing such as Language barrier for that bastard. 

Oh God he couldn’t deal with this. _He couldn’t lose Dean_. Not when he just got him back! No, he just couldn’t. _No way._ He couldn’t lose his brother again.

So, he sits on the couch, next to Kevin and with Dean on the bed across from him, and tries to control his heart bursting out of his chest.

Gabriel sighs again and leans his hand on the TV, spotless since Gabriel burst in a while ago, and hangs his head. Cas has moved a couple steps, standing partly behind and beside Gabriel. He’s lost all semblance of humanity that he had while he had been crazy out of his mind. He’s back to the statue soldier type again. Expressionless, blank, rigid.

Dean finally breaks the silence and asks the question that he had obviously thinking since he woke up, “You gonna tell me what happened while I was asleep here like the fucking Aurora? Did I go to sleep like the Seven Sleepers for a couple more centuries or something? ‘Cause y’all don’t look that different. Same clothes and Sammy’s same fucking lion mane. What happened?”

It’s with Dean again Saying his name the way he does, _Sammy_ , that he feels some of the fear melt and fall away like ice after a blizzard. Dean is here.

_Dean is here._

And of course it’s Cas that takes Dean literally and answers Dean first, “ I don’t understand what this has to do with the Seven Sleepers..” complete with the furrow in the brows, squint and head tilt.

Another part of the ice melts away at the familiarity of the gesture. He didn’t know he could miss something as simple as Dean saying his name, _Sammy_ , or Cas’ confused expression, but he had. This past year had been different, in a bad way, and he had felt the pain of the distance in his gut every day.

“Not quite Aurora, maybe a bit more Rapunzel? With the whole magic hair thing?”

“What?” Dean is confused. Of course Dean is confused. Gabriel doesn’t make sense. _Ever_. And Sam would take over and explain everything to Dean himself, making sure Dean doesn’t worry about this thing since he already seems so exhausted, but he has no idea what’s happening either.

Gabriel is the one to take point one, like it or not. Even if it’s killing Sam to let the fucker do it.

“Well, you laid down to have your power nap and we went down to the basement to plan World War III in our spare time, but Kevin here had to go and ruin the whole thing by Lighting up like it’s christmas and the Tablet is his Holy Grail that he’s gotta find before Indiana Jones gets to it; So we came upstairs to find you lighting up like a Faeri was dancing inside your body, the whole Eyes shining mouth lighting up deal too! Which would’ve been fine, until you opened your pouty chapped mouth and started uttering Enochian. Then you went lights out and woke up. Yup. Satisfied now? “ He explains the whole thing in one breath, with a higher voice than normal and excessive gesturing.

The amount of references and similes makes Sam think that Gabriel is scared; and what would scare an Archangel like Gabriel- except _Lucifer_.. well no not even him-  Sam has no idea. But this is classic Coping mechanism, and Sam knows it.

This means things are _bad._

He can feel his heartbeat from his head to his toes, his heart palpitating from the nervous bundle of fear that he feels in his gut.

 _He can’t lose Dean again_. He can’t.

“What? Why?! “ Dean exclaims after a couple seconds of shocked staring. He’s shocked, and uncomprehending. Which he has every right to be, none of this makes sense.

Kevin speaks up instead of Gabriel, “What did he say in Enochian?” with his hands locked in a defensive position in front of him. The kid is probably freaked out of his mind, too. This is not the type of thing you see every day. But whatever Gabriel did to him must’ve worked, because he’s not going all Prophet-mode on them again, which is a good thing at the moment.

One crisis at a time.

Gabriel moves one feet and then another, jiggling a bit, before sighing and saying the whole Enochian thing again, which sounds like weird Syllabi and Vowels to Sam and make absolute no sense; But it’s the Angel’s language, so it probably has to mean something. Sam watches Dean as he hears the Enochian. Dean’s brows furrow together as he listens to the words and he speaks up before Gabriel translates the words, “ That’s not regular Enochian, is it? That’s ancient Enochian. I talked in fucking Ancient Enochian?!”

Sam is confused. _What is Ancient Enochian?_ As far as he knows in his research, there is only one language for Angels, Enochian. Ancient Enochian doesn’t even make sense, much less Dean knowing about it and also knowing the differerence between Enochian and Ancient Enochian for that matter.

Which is when he remembers his brother had been stuck in _Purgatory_ for over a hundred years with an _Archangel_. _Over a century_. It’s a whole complete _lifetime_.

He feels shame burn inside him for thinking of Dean in the way he just had. He knows Dean is smart, a genius in the lore and strategy for that matter, but he’s gotten used to thinking of himself as the brains of the operations for a long time. It's not right, he knows. He just can't help it sometimes. He will try. He has to. For his brother.

Castiel looks surprised, Kevin looks confused, and Gabriel looks… proud. _Weird._

“Yeah, it’s Ancient Enochian. Nice catch! “ He says proudly, before explaining what the hell that means to the rest of them. “ It’s the language of the Archangels. It’s like the first Edition of the language. It’s more complex, but yet more.. encompassing. It’s the language of Prophecies that have been foretold for a long time, too.”

Prophecies?

 _Prophecies?_ If brains could flatline, Sam’s brain activity would flatline now. Dean's too, but he’s mostly taken to losing his color and paling even further.

“Another fuckin’ Prophecy? You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. _Fuck. Shit_.”, Dean exclaims vehemently.

Sam agrees. Wholeheartedly.

Dean recovers soon though and braces himself for the rest of the explanation.  Come to think of it, the Gabriel' style of the explanation had to have suited Dean well. He always talks like this, too.

_Huh._

He’d never thought of it before, but Dean and Gabriel do have some similarities; some qualities in common. 

Except the part where Dean prefers pie, and Gabriel prefers cake, probably.

_Ooh._

Well.

Dean swallows a few times and asks, “What did I say? the whole Prophecy? What does it mean?”

Gabriel blinks and then tilts his head, strangely reminiscent of Castiel, and responds, _“Righteousness shall lead in His Justice, And Judgment to the Fallen shall come forth. Let them Forget His Glory for their comfort, that His Voice shall Awaken them from their Sleep.”_

_What?_

If he had thought all the surprises of the day had been over, Sam had been sorely wrong. This is the real surprise, a little less surprising than Dean showing up in the rain with Gabriel in tow.

That had been the real surprise.

Yeah, but what a surprise.

_The best kind._

Which thinking of the Prophecy, “Righteousness? Like the Righteous Man whole deal? What’s that got to do with anything? And what the fuck does this whole thing mean, anyway?”

Gabriel raises his eyebrows at the reference to the Righteous Man, probably not having thought Sam would link those together. But it makes sense, right?

Fuck these Prophecies, ruining their life left and right. They paid their dues, Dean even more so than anybody else.

_Enough._

Kevin has been shocked, and asks in a timid voice, “His? His voice, His Glory? Like.. God?!”

Which causes Gabriel to roll his eyes at them again. “Probably, yeah… I don’t know, okay? This is one of those old as fuck prophecies that Father told us way back before Lucifer fell and got locked up. It was before the Great Fall, okay? But things from that era are pretty funky. Shit was going down, Lucifer throwing tantrums left and right, torturing souls to make his demons, Raising the Knights of Hell.. It was fucked up. Okay? I don’t know.” He finishes his outburst by throwing his hands up in the arm and then hugging his arms around his arms before taking a Crunchie bar and chewing at it angrily.

Kevin speaks up again a few seconds again, “We could look into it. There might be some answers in this Tablet that is tugging at me right now, right? It can’t be a coincidence, this whole Tablet thing and Dean’s episode and prophecy shit.”

Which is reasonable, and nothing less than what he’d expected from Kevin. Kevin is surprising collected and organized, adapting to the situation.

Kevin labors himself, pushing himself till he’s ready to drop like a sack of potatoes, but he’s reasonable.

And that’s what the need right now. _Reasonable._

“I can look through Heaven’s libraries, and see what they have on the aforementioned Prophecy while most of heaven will dedicate itself to finding the Tablet. You will have Heaven at your service. ” Says Cas in his deepest and most gravely voice. It’s rougher than more normal, and more formal that he’d expected.

Cas seems different, in a way. Somehow.

What is Heaven up to these days?

And why hasn’t Gabriel checked up on there yet, anyway? It’s his home, right?

“Great ! Don’t say anything to Naomi about the Prophecy, though. Wait, you know what, that bitch is stubborn. Seraphim, my ass. She’s got herself thinking she’s the big bad wolf leading the Pack since you went cray-cray, huh? Bitch. “ He raises his hand and snaps, “ Now you wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about this except us, even if wanted to! Fun, right?”

Who the fuck is Naomi? Probably another dick Angel. Great.

Gabriel turns around and continues, ignoring Cas’ pinched and Kevin’s amusement, and turns to Dean, “ Now, chuckles. That was our part of story, what’s yours? Chop chop, story time.”

Dean seems surprised at the backtrack, but recovers fast. Sam is mostly afraid Dean will try to hide what happened, _trying to not burden them with his problems_ , like he always has; But this is not the time or place. They need this information if they want to get to the bottom of this.

“Uh.. I’m not sure. I.. I feel like I had a fucking Nancy Drew Apocalypse style dream, but I can’t remember it. I try to remember what it was, but it feels like I can’t? “ Dean replies a few silent moments, his brows pinched together like he’s trying to remember it now too, and it’s not working.

“A Mental Block? ” Cas asks, his voice serious and ready to smite.

“Uh.. kinda? I’m not sure…” Dean replies, before Gabriel appears behind him, his hands on Dean’s head.

Dean doesn’t even jump or look surprised. He just rolls his eyes, grumbling, “What’s the Diagnosis, Doc? Am I dyin’ or what?” He says, his voice a bit lighter, if a bit panicked on the edge.

Gabriel is standing in front of Dean, his eyes closed and concentrated. “There’s a block, yeah.. A wall. Around a hefty part of your memories. I can’t access it either. It’s bound and locked pretty heavily, and I don’t want you to go all Cuckoo on me like your bro and mine went either. “ He adds in the end, with a touch of humor in the end. It earns a chuckle from Dean, and an eyebrow raise from Kevin, also in humor.

Cas tilts his eyes in confusion, and Sam rolls his eyes in good humor. Matter of the fact is, Sam doesn’t remember any of the time where he’d been going crazy after the Cage. He doesn’t remember the Cage, or Lucifer, or his craziness. He remembers waking up in the Mental institute, tired and sleep deprived.

Now, back to the more urgent stuff. He can go suffer about the things he can’t even remember in his own time.

Now.

“So, what do we do?” He asks, because they need a plan.

They got through most of the past few years without any plans. Most of Dean’s planning usually consists of “Make it up as we go,” or “Plan: Attack.” or something like that.

But this sounds like bigger than them, overwhelming if they let it be, and they need some semblance of plan.

At least a pretense of knowing what the fuck they’re gonna do.

Right?

They’re gonna get over this shit like they do any other time.

They’ve totally got this.

_Totally._

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here be chapter! Comments and Kudos are always welcome!  
> Next chapter next week! 
> 
> What did you think of the chapter?


	7. Bridge Over Troubled Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away  
> Now it looks as though they're here to stay  
> oh, I believe in yesterday"
> 
> Beatles - Yesterday
> 
> You can listen to Sweet Home Alabama as well, if you want to!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short fluffy little chapter, because I was having the hardest time trying to write this chapter.   
> Home Front isn't the best atm, so It's affecting my writing as well. I apologize!  
> But, I'm going to update sooner this time, so stay tuned!
> 
> Please tell me what you think of the chapters! It means a lot to me!   
> Thank you! 
> 
> Enjoy!

After Gabriel explains what is happening, as far as he knows, Dean can feel his energy levels dropping even further. His eyelids drooping, his vision clouding and darkening, the lull in the words that signals an upcoming long episode of sleep. In between the bouts of sleep and awareness, he barely recognizes Gabriel say “ Kevin… Cas.. Tablet.. Get.. Angels… Stay..”. He doesn't know what their plan is in exact measures, but he’d bet his machete Gabriel will send Angels after Cas and Kevin to go find the friggin’ Tablet.

Deductive reasoning, anyone?

_Dad would be so proud._

_Huh, Dad. Proud. What a joke. John Winchester was never satisfied with anything Dean did._

How did he get to thinking about his Dad? He hadn’t, in such a long while...Why is he so tired, anyway? Doesn’t make.. sense..

hmmm.

_Sleep._

He startles when he feels the soft skin of a hand petting his hair and guiding his head to.. lean on something.

His eyes are closed, and he’s pretty sure opening them again is going to use more energy than he can spare at the moment, so he doesn’t even try. The pillow is soft, and familiar - he doesn’t care how he can recognize the pillow, all he cares about right now is that he can get some rest and close his eyes.

Just for a few minutes, just long enough for him to recharge.

That’s it.

Hmmm.

 

***

He wakes up an indeterminable amount of time later, to the sound of thunder roaring in the distance, and drops of rain drumming on the roof of the Cabin. The sweet melody of the drip drip of water from a leaky part of the Cabin is as sweet to his ears as listening to Ramble on.

_He’s home._

He moves around the bed and tries to go back to sleep. He’s tired in a way that he’s not able to describe. Even if he’s been tired before, this is different.

It feels different.

It’s the same type of tired he’d achieved when Alistair had strung him up on the rack for days, cutting into his flesh and blood, draining him of any sinew, bone and flesh he’d had. It’s the exhaustion of a body that is ready to give up on its non-existence, and it frightens him.

He burrows deeper in the blanket, before sighing and stretching. He sighs and sits up, rubbing his eye with his right hand before slumping forward and groaning.

That is, until he hears the sound in the background:

_Sweet home Alabama_

_Where the skies are so blue_

_Sweet home Alabama_

_Lord, I'm coming home to you_

He chuckles then, and opens his eyes to Gabriel turning the volume up on the radio that Dean is sure never worked before. Angel Mojo sure has its perks.

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’ve already gone Native on me. We’ve been back for like what, two days?” He asks Gabriel with a raspy voice. His voice is much drier than he’d expected, and his voice is like a growl on old sandpaper. Dry and Painful.

He coughs, tries to dislodge the burning sensation of dry mouth and his sleep-addled mind. In the background, he hears Gabriel laugh and raise his head up from where he’d been laying on the couch watching a Soap Opera on mute. It’s the same old Soap that Dean had used to watch with Bobby back in the days.

With a painful jolt and a bottomless pit of hurt, he pushes all thoughts of Bobby to the side. It never does get easier, losing a loved one; Bobby had been the true Father he’d never had. John was his Drill sergeant, drilling to his head to watch over Sammy over anything else. To John, killing the Demon and avenging the demon came before anything and everything; to Bobby, family was everything.

_Family don’t end with blood, kid._

Gabriel has gone back to watching the show, but his eyes are glassy in the way that Dean recognizes from the time where Cas would hang out, but do his heavenly work at the same time. He takes a guess and bets that Gabriel is not watching the show, but is rather checking up on something without that Cabin; Which, good for him.

He sighs again and rises from the bed, going to the tiny bathroom to the side of the living room, across from the kitchen. It’s small and dingy, much older than it probably ought to be, but it’s functional. It’s a proper bathroom, with working water and everything. He walks inside and decides that a shower at this point would do him good. He’s not awake enough as is, and a good shower would wake him.

It has been ages since he last had a proper shower. It’s time to remedy that.

He quickly strips and steps into the dark moldy shower. The water is colder than it is warm, not even lukewarm, but it’s a proper functioning shower rather than the running water of the River stream, so he’s thankful to all the gods and goddesses anyway.

_It’s a miracle, all on its own._

He washes his hair, and then moves to his body, scrubbing all the nonexistent dirt and grime from his body. He feels soiled, dirty and unclean in a way that he feels to the deepest parts of his body. Though, he doubts this is the type that he can wash clean with a bar of soap and cold water. This is the result of years of living in a place no human was supposed to be. This was the result of his damnation.

He sighs again and shuts the water off; it has long gone cold anyway. He shuffles around and grabs a towel from the creaky cabinet across from the sink, and looks up to the mirror for the first time since he got back.

The scene in front of him hits him in the guts like a ton of bricks.

He doesn’t look different. There’s nothing in his face that says, _“I ran away from monsters in purgatory for a whole century,”_ ; There’s no sign of what happened.

It’s like nothing happened. Like he slept through the whole thing and woke up again the next day after stabbing _Dick fucking Roman._

Except, a lot has happened in the time that passed, things that he can’t ignore. He went _The Last Frontier_ for the past 100 years, and it changed him.

And now, he’s back to reality, a reality where not much has changed.

_Sammy’s alive, and Cas, and Kevin, and you have Gabe now too, so what the fuck is wrong with you, idiot?_

He shuffles around for a few minutes, before he realizes that in his sleepiness he has forgotten to grab his shower kit or any clothes, and he’d be damned if he wears the same clothes again. He’s worn the same outfit for way too long.

He sighs before opening the door with a groan and shuffling out, with his towel wrapped around his bottom. There’s still water running down from his hair, down his back and across his torso, and it’s cold. He’s shivering by the time he finds his duffel in a corner, and he rolls his eyes when Gabriel rises from his place on the couch and wiggles his eyes with mirth in his eyes. If he was being honest, Dean would admit that he’d missed the mischievous look on Gabriel’s face. Purgatory had robbed both of them of their sense of humor, and replaced it with a sense of dread and melancholy. They hadn’t exactly had the time to sit and plan pranks or tell jokes.

“What would you do right now if I snapped the towel out of existence? It’s ruining my moment. I hate it.” Gabriel asks with a petulant voice. It’s so Gabriel that it makes Dean laugh.

“Oh shut it, you overgrown pair of wings. You wouldn’t dare.” He rises from his place after choosing a good old pair of his favorite Jeans and a few shirts to layer. They don’t smell dingy or like they’ve rotted around in the duffel for a year, so he shrugs it off as a miracle and changes in the bathroom. It’s not that he’s shy about his body, or like Gabriel hasn’t seen him naked before; Purgatory made them both lose any sense of pride and dignity they had over such things. It’s the principle of the thing.

He leaves the bathroom in a few moments, and tucks the old clothes back into the duffel with a look of disdain that earns him a chuckle from Gabriel.

“Where is everybody else?” It is then that he dares ask the question that has plagued him since he noticed how empty the place was. It’s quiet and peaceful, and he is grateful for that. However, he could do without losing the few pieces of the family he has left, thank you very much.

“Went with Indiana Jones of a Prophet we’ve got to find the Holy Grail. He was jonesing for his precious Tablet again, so I sent Cas to go fetch a few other Angels and go find it. We don’t have the luxury of the Levis finding it for us this time, but we’ve got angels, right?”

He answers with a pop of the popsicle he’s been sucking on since Dean came out of the shower.

Dean plops next to him on the couch with a huff, which prompts Gabriel to get even more comfortable and lay his feet on Dean’s thighs.

“Comfy now, are we?” Dean asks with a glare that he doesn’t mean. It’s not like he minds, at all. It’s very.. them, is what this is. This is reminiscent of the times they had rested in the quiet of trees and the silence of the dark.

“Oh yeah, very.” Gabriel answers absently, his eyes again glossed over. Dean rolls his eyes and reaches for the remote, trying to find something that doesn’t suck as much as this Soap. He’s got no patience for Soap Operas anymore, it seems. Too much drama. He’s got enough of that in his own life, thank you.

That’s when he realizes the Radio is still blasting, and the song has changed to some new age Rock music that he wouldn’t ever count Rock in his lifetime, so he gets up and turns it off with a glare toward the Radio.

He sits back and glances back at the TV, suddenly not interested in watching anything anymore.

“What’s gonna happen to me? I’m gonna die, aren’t I? “ He asks quietly, cursing himself for even opening his mouth. He hadn’t meant to ask that. He hadn’t. But the speculations of what his little episode, along with the Tablet, could mean had been on the forefront of his mind since he woke up and he just had to ask.

_Gabriel was an Archangel. Even if he died, he’d bring him back. Right?_

With a jolt, he realized that he didn’t want to die.

It was a new feeling. He’d known, from when he was 16 years old and he’d went on hunts with his Dad on a regular basis, that he’d die with a gun in his hand or with his head rolling on the floor. A round too many with a pistol and the monster of the week.

And now, he’d have to face off with a monster plaguing his own body and soul - something is different, you feel it too?-  and prophecies and Angels and Demons and God again.. and he wasn’t ready to bid his goodbye.

_Pathetic._

“You’re not gonna die! Why would you say that?! “ Gabriel asks, offended and a little bewildered. His eyes are too wide and his voice is shaky, but his tone is firm.

“But you said..” Dean tries to answer, before he’s cut off by Gabriel rising and sitting on the couch properly, touching Dean’s hands with his own. He catches Dean’s eyes with his own, pupils small and eyes shining in earnest, “Dean. Listen to me. Whatever this is, _whatever_ , okay? We’ll deal with it. We’ll deal with it and it’ll go away like it always does with you Winchesters and it’ll be okay. You’re one undying bastard and you’ll survive this. Even if for some reason you don’t, do you think I’ll let your lazy ass just lay there, dead? Where can I get another plaything, then? It’s not easy, let me tell you. Now listen, you bastard. You cannot give up. We’re gonna do this, and we’re gonna do this all together. Is that clear?” He looks Dean in the eyes long enough, until Dean nods his head in understanding and embarrassment.

“Good. ‘Cause no human’s supposed to end like.. two apocalypses and then survive ages in the Land of Monsters, so.. you defy Gravity anyway.” Gabriel adds as an afterthought after a few silent seconds have passed.

“What, so _I believe I can Fly_ out of this thing?” Dean asks incredulously.

“Nah, that’s no fun. You own up to it, and stand up to it. Isn’t that a thing? Someone told me about this thing once.. hhmmm..” Gabriel adds, tapping his cheeks in mock thought.

Dean bats his arms in play, and says “ Shut it, Crunchie” before extending his arms in request and raising his eyes.

“I did promise, didn’t I? Damn my awesome foresight.. “ Gabriel rolls his eyes snaps his fingers, producing two slices of pie - Apple and Pecan - and handing it over to Dean’s waiting hands with a flourish.

“So, what’s the plan?”, Dean asks with a mouthful of warm and fresh apple pie in his mouth. He’s not even apologetic for his lack of manners. The pie is probably the best he’s ever had.

“Well, the actual plan is to go get drunk in Vegas… Not that? Okay. Well, the plan is to wait until the Jenkins get back from their fairy ride with the Red Shoe, and then we find out who the Dark evil Villain is. Plain and simple.”

Dean nods in understanding and affirmation before adding, “Wait before we’ve got all the Variables before solving the Puzzle? Huh. Sounds smart. ‘Kay, good with me.”

Gabriel rolls his eyes at the answer and adds under his breath, “Nerd,” with a chuckle.

“Yeah, well. You’re a Candy-hoarding dick with wings, so.. beat that.” Dean says as he gets up from his place and goes off to the kitchen area to deposit his dirty dishes. Before he reaches the sink however, the remenants of Pie disappear and the dish is as clean as new. Dean turns around and glares at Gabriel, “You couldn’t do that when I was comfy? Dick!”. Gabriel full on grins, his cheeks extending and puffing high on his cheekbones, “Now where’s the fun in that?”

It’s gonna be a long day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank Kai for helping me with "Candy Hoarding dick with wings" part. I had so many ideas and she basically summarized the nickname for me.  
> She's the best.  
> Thanks, Starlight!


End file.
